小马（colt）驮着一袋小麦（wheat）要到磨坊去，路上需要渡过一条小河。小马来到河边，因为不知河的深浅，他不敢过河。小马问牛伯伯河有多深，牛伯伯说水很浅，于是小马满怀信心准备过河，但他刚把脚伸到河里…… Let’s read the story.
　　A colt comes.
　　He carries（携带） a bag of wheat.
　　He wants to go to a mill（磨坊）.
　　The colt comes to a river.
　　“Can I cross the river？” he doesn’t know how deep（多深）the river is.
　　The colt looks around（环顾四周）.
　　He sees a cow nearby（附近）.
　　“Uncle Cow， is the river deep？” asks the colt.
　　“No， it’s not very deep， just to my knees（膝盖），” says the cow.
　　“Can I cross（渡过） the river？” asks the colt.
　　“Of course， you can，” says the cow.
　　The colt is ready to（准备） cross the river.
　　A squirrel jumps down（跳下来）from a tree.
　　“Colt， stop！ Don’t cross the river，” the squirrel stops the colt.
　　“What’s the matter？” asks the colt.
　　“The river is very deep，” says the squirrel.
　　“Don’t cross it. You’ll be drowned （被淹死）！”
　　The colt is scared（害怕的）.
　　He goes home to ask（询问） his mum.
　　“Mum， I have to（不得不）cross a river，” says the colt.
　　“A cow says the river is shallow（浅的）.
　　But a squirrel says the river is very deep.”
　　“My child， try yourself（亲自试一下），” says mum.
　　“And you can find the answer.”
　　The colt comes to the river again.
　　Just at the river， the squirrel stops the colt again.
　　“Colt ， it’s too dangerous（危险的）！” says the squirrel.
　　“No， I want to have a try（试一试），” says the colt.
　　The colt makes his first step（步子）.
　　“Be brave（勇敢些）， lovely colt，” says the cow.
　　“Take care（當心）， colt，” says the squirrel.
　　The colt crosses the river carefully（小心地）.
　　The river is just to his stomach（肚子）.
　　The river is not too shallow（浅的）.
　　It is not too deep， either（也）.
　　The cow is tall， so the river is
　　shallow for him.
　　The squirrel is short， so the river is deep for her.
　　Real knowledge comes from practices.
　　We should be brave to try.